R10 QUAL - Lowndes unspooked by Calder history
19/8/2000 17:06 (V8 Wire - Jason Whittaker) - Craig Lowndes returned to the scene of his death-defying barrel-roll today – Melbourne’s Calder Park Raceway for Round 10 of the Shell Series – and has shown no fear in claiming pole position for tomorrow’s triple sprints.
Lowndes was unspooked by the tight Calder layout, despite playing host to the worst crash of his career last year, and dominated qualifying to claim top spot with a 55.91 second flier.
Age shall not weary 50-year-old veteran, Larry Perkins, who upstaged many half his age to claim a front row spot – his best time eight one-hundredths slower than Lowndes.
The advantage of testing at the circuit also played into the hands of Perkins’ team-mate, Russell Ingall, who qualified a year-best third.
The session again proved to be a tight affair, with a second separating the top 25 cars.
"I guess you do have to have a little luck when it is this close," poleman Lowndes said. "My first run wasn't that flash but the second set of tyres gave us the time."
Perkins, who hasn’t been on the front row of a grid since 1997, shocked himself as much as anyone else with his pace.
"Maybe they have a right to call for a swab," Perkins joked. "My young son has been saying that he wished I would get into the top ten because he was embarrassed, so I thought I had better do something about it."
Ingall said he’ll be keeping well clear of the boss. "He's already got me paying my own fines and I reckon he would make me pay for my own accident damage too and I can't afford it so I will be careful," he said.
The “common” undertray, bolted onto to the Falcons for the first time this weekend, proved to have little effect on the make-up of the fastest ten, with only four Fords fast enough to qualify on the first five rows.
DJR’s Paul Radisich was again Henry’s best performer, qualifying alongside Ingall on the second row.
"I am really pleased, especially after Oran Park which was a shocker for us," Radisich said. "When we get settled with this new tray and get a chance to have a good look at it, I am sure it will be a help to us."
The most courageous performance of the day goes to Mark Larkham, who started Calder preparations with severe injuries and a car shell three weeks ago, and finished today with a top five qualifying position.
The Mitre 10 Falcon was a write-off after Larkham’s horrendous Oran Park ordeal, and the team has worked 15-hour days to build another machine.
"I feel okay to race. I am wearing a kidney belt to help a little but I am sure I will get through the races," Larkham said. "The car is great and it is a real credit to my team who just put their heads down after the Oran Park crash and built a very good car.”
Shell Championship Series runaway leader, Mark Skaife, struggled throughout the 55-minute qualifying session (despite topping the time sheets in earlier sessions), to find himself back in sixth position.
However, his championship lead is unlikely to be eroded dramatically after his biggest title rival, Glenn Seton, could only manage seventh. K-Mart racer Steven Richards will start alongside the Falcon of Seton on the fourth row.
The Stone Brothers’ best was again Tony Longhurst, who will share the fifth row with early Championship leader, Garth Tander.
While they will start Race 1 a long way from the front, Championship heavy-weights Mark Skaife and Glenn Seton could benefit from the reverse grided third race, which will again see the top six start in reverse order. Starting positions for the third 20-minute race will be decided by nominal points from the first two races (see explination).
V8 action will kick-off at Calder Park Raceway, below predicted heavy clouds, with Race 1 at 11:30am tomorrow morning. Network Ten will carry a full replay at 3pm.
**TOP TEN**
1st CRAIG LOWNDES (Mobil-Holden Racing) - VT Commodore [0:55.9126min]
2nd LARRY PERKINS (Castrol Perkins Racing) - VT Commodore [0:55.9997]
3rd RUSSELL INGALL (Castrol Perkins Racing) - VT Commodore [0:56.0016]
4th PAUL RADISICH (Shell Helix Racing) - AU Falcon [0:56.0320]
5th MARK LARKHAM (Mitre 10 Racing) - AU Falcon [0:56.0512]
6th MARK SKAIFE (Mobil-Holden Racing) - VT Commodore [0:56.0797]
7th GLENN SETON (Ford-Tickford Racing) - AU Falcon [0:56.0910]
8th STEVEN RICHARDS (K-Mart Racing) - VT Commodore [0:56.1307]
9th TONY LONGHURST (Caltex Havoline Racing) - AU Falcon [0:56.1554]
10th GARTH TANDER (Team Valvoline-Cummins) - VT Commodore [0:56.1825]
| |
